Autism CRC LASA Project

Does anxiety impact or influence the quality of life of children on the autism spectrum?

• Full research paper citation: Adams, D., Clark, M. & Keen, D. (2019). Using self-report to explore the relationship between anxiety and quality of life in children on the autism spectrum. Autism Research, 12, 1505-1515. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2155
• Free to access link: The Relationship Between Child Anxiety and the Quality of Life of Children, and Parents of Children, on the Autism Spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

What do parents notice as the signs of anxiety in their children on the autism spectrum? Are these signs the same at home, at school or when out in the community?

• Full research paper citation: Adams, D., Young, K., Simpson, K., & Keen, D. (2019). Parent descriptions of the presentation and management of anxiousness in children on the autism spectrum. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, 23, 980-992. doi: 10.1177/1362361318794031
• Free to access link: Parent descriptions of the presentation and management of anxiousness in children on the autism spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

What words do children on the autism spectrum use to describe their anxiety and what symptoms of anxiety do they report on a questionnaire?

• Full research paper citation: Adams, D., Simpson, K., & Keen, D. (2019). Exploring anxiety at home, school, and in the community through self‐report from children on the autism spectrum. Autism Research. doi: 10.1002/aur.2246
• Free to access link: Exploring Anxiety at Home, School, and in the Community Through Self-Report From Children on the Autism Spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

What signs of anxiety do teachers recognise in their students on the autism spectrum?

• Full research paper citation: Adams, D., Simpson, K. & Keen, D. (2018). School-related anxiety symptomatology in a non-clinical sample of primary-school aged on the autism spectrum. Journal of School Psychology, 70, 64-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2018.07.003
• Free to access link: School-related anxiety symptomatology in a community sample of primary-school-aged children on the autism spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

Does anxiety look the same in boys and girls on the autism spectrum?

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Ambrose, K., Adams, D., Simpson, K., & Keen, D. (2020). Exploring gender profiles in anxiety symptoms in children on the autism spectrum. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101601
• Free to access link: Exploring profiles of anxiety symptoms in male and female children on the autism spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

How well does an autism-specific measure of anxiety capture the experiences of anxiety in school-aged children on the autism spectrum?

• Full research paper citation: den Houting, J., Adams, D., Roberts, J. & Keen, D. Investigating the impact of anxious symptomatology in autistic children. International Journal of Disability, Development and Education.
• Free to access link: Brief Report: Investigating the Impact of Anxious Symptomatology in Autistic Children (griffith.edu.au)

What symptoms of anxiety do parents report in their 10-11 year olds on the autism spectrum?

• Full research paper citation: den Houting, J., Adams, D., Roberts, J. & Keen, D (2018). An exploration of autism-specific and non-autism-specific measures of anxiety symptomatology in school-aged autistic children. Clinical Psychologist, 1-12. doi: 10.1111/cp.12174
• Free to access link: Exploring anxiety symptomatology in school-aged autistic children using an autism-specific assessment (griffith.edu.au)

What symptoms of anxiety do parents report in their 5-6 year olds on the autism spectrum?

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Keen, D., Adams, D., Simpson, K., Den Houting, J., & Roberts, J. (2019). Anxiety-related symptomatology in young children on the autism spectrum. Autism: International Journal of Research and Practice, 23, 350-358. doi: 10.1177/1362361317734692
• Free to access link: Anxiety-related symptomatology in young children on the autism spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

• Full research paper citation: Adams, D., Keen, D., Heussler, H., Wicks, R. & Roberts, J. (2019). Family outcomes for families of 4-5-year-old children on the autism spectrum who have received early childhood intervention in Australia. Infants & Young Children, 32, 186-200. doi: 10.1097/IYC.0000000000000143
• Free to access link: Family Outcomes for Families of 4-5-Year-Old Children on the Autism Spectrum Who Have Received Early Childhood Intervention in Australia(griffith.edu.au)

Caregivers of children on the autism spectrum completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth which reports on how frequent children do activities and their involvement in activities in the home, school, and community. Caregivers also indicated whether they desired a change in these behaviours.

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Simpson, K., Adams, D., Bruck, S., & Keen, D. (2019). Investigating the participation of children on the autism spectrum across home, school and community: A longitudinal study. Child: Care, Health and Development.
• Free to access link: Investigating the participation of children on the autism spectrum across home, school, and community: A longitudinal study (griffith.edu.au)

Caregivers of children on the autism spectrum completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth which reports on how frequent children do activities and their involvement in activities in the home, school, and community. Caregivers also indicated whether they desired a change in these behaviours.

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Simpson, K., Keen, D., Adams, D., Alston-Knox, C., & Roberts, J. (2018). Participation of children on the autism spectrum in home, school and community. Child: Care, Health and Development, 44, 99-107. doi: 10.1111/cch.12483
• Free to access link: Participation of children on the autism spectrum in home, school, and community (griffith.edu.au) 

Do parents of children on the spectrum feel that early intervention is beneficial for the family and see early intervention as helpful in supporting their family’s needs? What is more important in helping families to feel that they gain the most out of early intervention: child factors (e.g. ability, behaviour, communication), parent factors (e.g. stress, education level) or family factors (e.g. income)?

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Wicks, R., Paynter, J. & Adams, D. (2019). Predictors of Family Outcomes of Early Intervention for Children on the Autism Spectrum. Journal of Early Intervention. 1-21.  https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815119883413

• Full research paper citation: Adams, D., Paynter, J. Clark, M., Roberts, J. & Keen, D. (2019). The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) profile in young children on the autism spectrum: The impact of child and family factors. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, 49, 3426–3439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-019-04067-0
• Free to access link: The Developmental Behaviour Checklist (DBC) Profile in Young Children on the Autism Spectrum: The Impact of Child and Family Factors (griffith.edu.au)

Caregivers of children on the autism spectrum (aged 4 – 11 years) completed the Short Sensory Profile-2 questionnaire. Caregivers rated how often their child showed a behavioural response to everyday sensory input.

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Simpson, K., Adams, D., Alston-Knox, C., Heussler, H., & Keen, D. (2019). Exploring the sensory profiles of children on the autism spectrum using the Short Sensory Profile-2 (SSP-2). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities, ePub ahead of print. doi: 10.1007/s10803-019-03889-2
• Free to access link:  Exploring the Sensory Profiles of Children on the Autism Spectrum Using the Short Sensory Profile-2 (SSP-2) (griffith.edu.au)

• Full research paper citation: den Houting, J., Adams, D., Roberts, J., & Keen, D. (2018). Using an autism-specific assessment to explore anxiety symptomatology in school-aged autistic children. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 50, 73-82. doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2018.03.005
• Free to access link: Exploring anxiety symptomatology in school-aged autistic children using an autism-specific assessment (griffith.edu.au)

If parents reported their children to show better written communication skills than spoken communication skills on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS).  If children’s written communication skills at age 4/5 were linked to the number of autism traits and/or to parent-reported difficulties in their children’s social communication skills.

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Westerveld, M., Paynter, J. & Adams, D. (2021). Brief Report: Associations between autism characteristics, written and spoken characteristics, and social interaction skills in preschool-age children on the autism spectrum. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-021-04889-x 
• Free to access link: Brief Report: Associations Between Autism Characteristics, Written and Spoken Communication Skills, and Social Interaction Skills in Preschool-Age Children on the Autism Spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

• Full research paper citation: Keen, D., Webster, A. & Ridley, G. (2015). How well are children with ASD doing academically at school? A review of the literature. Autism: The International Journal of Research and Practice, 20, 276-294. doi: 10.1177/1362361315580962
• Free to access link: How well are children with autism spectrum disorder doing academically at school? An overview of the literature (griffith.edu.au)

Teachers completed a measure rating the student’s academic skills and factors that may relate to academic skills.

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Keen, D., Adams, D. & Simpson, K. (2021). Teacher Ratings of Academic Skills and Academic Enablers of Children on the Autism Spectrum. International Journal of Inclusive Education.  https://doi.org/10.1080/13603116.2021.1881626
• Free to access link: Teacher ratings of academic skills and academic enablers of children on the autism spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

Question asked: Caregivers of children on the autism spectrum completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth which reports on how frequent children do activities and their involvement in activities in the home, school, and community. Caregivers also indicated whether they desired a change in these behaviours.

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Simpson, K., Adams, D., Bruck, S., & Keen, D. (2019). Investigating the participation of children on the autism spectrum across home, school and community: A longitudinal study. Child: Care, Health and Development.
• Free to access link: Investigating the participation of children on the autism spectrum across home, school, and community: A longitudinal study (griffith.edu.au)

Caregivers of children on the autism spectrum completed the Participation and Environment Measure for Children and Youth which reports on how frequent children do activities and their involvement in activities in the home, school, and community. Caregivers also indicated whether they desired a change in these behaviours.

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Simpson, K., Keen, D., Adams, D., Alston-Knox, C., & Roberts, J. (2018). Participation of children on the autism spectrum in home, school and community. Child: Care, Health and Development, 44, 99-107. doi: 10.1111/cch.12483
• Free to access link: Participation of children on the autism spectrum in home, school, and community (griffith.edu.au)

Do parents of children on the spectrum feel that early intervention is beneficial for the family and see early intervention as helpful in supporting their family’s needs? What is more important in helping families to feel that they gain the most out of early intervention: child factors (e.g. ability, behaviour, communication), parent factors (e.g. stress, education level) or family factors (e.g. income)?

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Wicks, R., Paynter, J. & Adams, D. (2019). Predictors of Family Outcomes of Early Intervention for Children on the Autism Spectrum. Journal of Early Intervention. 1-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815119883413

What signs of anxiety do teachers recognise in their students on the autism spectrum?

• Full research paper citation: Adams, D., Simpson, K. & Keen, D. (2018). School-related anxiety symptomatology in a non-clinical sample of primary-school aged on the autism spectrum. Journal of School Psychology, 70, 64-73. doi: 10.1016/j.jsp.2018.07.003
• Free to access link: School-related anxiety symptomatology in a community sample of primary-school-aged children on the autism spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

Children were asked the following three questions: 1) What do you like best about yourself? 2) What are you absolutely best at and 3) What do you enjoy the most?

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Clark, M. & Adams, D. (2020). The self-identified positive attributes and favourite activities of children on the autism spectrum. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 72, 10512. Doi: 10.1016/j.rasd.2020.101512
• Free to access link: The self-identified positive attributes and favourite activities of children on the autism spectrum (griffith.edu.au)

Teachers reported on the supports, accommodations and additional assistance provided to students. Teachers also compared the frequency of class engagement and methods of evaluating outcomes and engagement with instructional materials of students with and without autism

• Link to one page summary
• Full research paper citation: Clark, M. Adams, D., Westerveld, M. & Roberts, J. (2019). How do teachers support their students on the autism spectrum in Australian primary schools? Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, doi: 10.1111/1471-3802.12464
• Free to access link: How do teachers support their students on the autism spectrum in Australian primary schools? (griffith.edu.au)

Full research paper citation: Roberts, J., Adams, D., Heussler, H., Keen, D., Paynter, J., Trembath, D., Westerveld, M., & Williams, K. (2018). Protocol for a prospective longitudinal study investigating the participation and educational trajectories of Australian students with autism. 8(1), e017082. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2017-017082

Free to access link: Protocol for a prospective longitudinal study investigating the participation and educational trajectories of Australian students with autism (griffith.edu.au)

Full research paper citation: Roberts J.M., Paynter J., Trembath D., Westerveld M., Williams K. (2020). Designing a longitudinal study of development of students with autism: Focus on learning, education, and meaningful outcomes. In SAGE Research Methods Cases. https://www.doi.org/10.4135/9781529735628